10 Simple Steps to Setting Goals
/“If life is a journey, how will you get there if you don’t have an itinerary? Goals tell you where you are going, how you are going to get there, and what you will do when you get there.”
According to a study conducted by the Journal of Consumer Research, “People who set themselves ambitious goals tend to be more satisfied than those with lower expectations.” According to Heidi G. Halvorson Ph.D., a social psychologist and the author of Succeed: How We Can Reach Our Goals, “People set goals with two factors in mind: expectancy and value. ‘Expectancy’ refers to how likely you believe you are to succeed, and ‘value’ refers to how good it will be for you if you do reach the goal.”
Most people desire to succeed, and goals, whether financial or personal are an important part of life, but where do you start? Check out these ten tips from WikiHow.com, and share them with your kids. It’s never too early to teach your children the value of goal setting in their lives.
- Decide what you want. Set a deadline for your goals so you don’t waste your time going through life waiting for things to happen.
- Start small. Don’t set your goals too high. Doing so may overwhelm you, consume a great deal of your time, and cause you to give up or change your goals. Smaller goals are preferable because you can more easily measure your achievements.
- Match your goals to relevant areas of life (for example: family and home, career, social, physical, mental and spiritual). Doing so provides you with a specific road map and helps you have more control over the process.
- Be positive when stating your goals. This encourages you to think positively and view your goals as a good thing.
- Don’t underestimate yourself. Don’t let the fear of failure cause you to set your goals too low or to slack off completely.
- Write down your goals. Doing so confirms your intent and willingness to make them happen. It’s a reminder of what you need to do. Consider hanging the written goals somewhere as a constant reminder.
- Affirm it. Be conscious of both your thought processes and your acts. The two need to be aligned or you’ll easily stray from your goals.
- Stop procrastinating. Set a schedule and a reward system for each time you meet your goals.
- Habituate yourself to liking the challenges. While you should start small when you are setting your goals, it’s also okay to think big – to think great thoughts about your goals and to fully trust your capabilities.
- Review your progress. Set, affirm, do and review your goals. This will help keep you on the path of achieving the goals you've set yourself.
FamilyMint.com provides a fun and educational way for children, with the help of their parents, to set and achieve financial goals and build financial literacy. Their easy and intuitive award-winning online money management application has helped thousands of parents raise money-smart kids by teaching them about financial goal setting, and forming the types of financial habits and behaviors that will lead to financial success.
Check out FamilyMint.com and invest in your child’s future financial literacy.
Sources:
http://www.inc.com/news/articles/201108/study-says-ambitious-goals-make-people-happier.html
http://www.wikihow.com/Set-Goals
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